The pancreas of a normal healthy person produces and releases insulin into the blood stream in response to elevated blood plasma glucose levels. Beta cells (β-cells), which reside in the pancreas, produce and secrete the insulin into the blood stream, as it is needed. If β-cells become incapacitated or die, a condition known as Type I diabetes mellitus (or in some cases if β-cells produce insufficient quantities of insulin, Type II diabetes), then insulin must be provided to the body from another source.
Traditionally, since insulin cannot be taken orally, insulin has been injected with a syringe. More recently, use of infusion pump therapy has been increasing, especially for delivering insulin for diabetics. For example, external infusion pumps are worn on a belt, in a pocket, or the like, and deliver insulin into the body via an infusion tube with a percutaneous needle or a cannula placed in the subcutaneous tissue. As of 1995, less than 5% of Type I diabetics in the United States were using infusion pump therapy. Presently, over 7% of the more than 900,000 Type I diabetics in the United States are using infusion pump therapy, and the percentage of Type I diabetics that use an infusion pump is growing at an absolute rate of over 2% each year. Moreover, the number of Type I diabetics is growing at 3% or more per year. In addition, growing numbers of insulin-using Type II diabetics are also using infusion pumps. Physicians have recognized that continuous infusion provides greater control of a diabetic's condition, and are also increasingly prescribing it for patients. Although offering control, pump therapy can suffer from several complications that make use of traditional external infusion pumps less desirable for the user.
In insulin pumps, it is common to use fast acting insulin as opposed to the slower acting insulin that is used for injections, because pumps allow changing of insulin profiles. As insulin companies develop faster acting insulin, the faster acting insulin is often adopted quickly. However, current pumps are still limited by the speed of the insulin they are using.